What is the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation?
The Australian Rural Leadership Foundation was established in 1992 to respond to a backdrop of emerging challenges for rural, regional and remote Australia. It exists to create a network of leaders with compassion and commitment, strategic thinking and negotiating skills, and the foresight to influence communities, industries, businesses and policy makers.

The Foundation develops and supports leaders to advance the viability and sustainability of rural Australia. Graduates of its programs are equipped to address the problems and opportunities presented by rapidly changing social, environmental, business and structural factors in rural, regional and remote Australia.

The Foundation is highly successful and respected in its field and has a significant track record in building capable leaders for and from rural Australia.

An independent evaluation of the Australian Rural Leadership Program’s first 10 years has shown that, post-graduation, almost 20 per cent of participants occupied company board positions, 18 per cent had become chief executive officers or chief financial officers, 18 per cent had taken on national positions and eight percent were employed in international roles.

A network of rural leaders
Graduates of the Foundation’s leadership programs are invaluable in terms of their roles in:
o supporting rural communities at local levels
o contributing to change and development in primary industries at regional, state and national levels
o participating in policy development and facilitating structural change.

The Foundation works with its 400 strong network of graduates who form the cornerstone of a national resource with the capacity and expertise to contribute to the development of rural Australia.

Over the next few years, the Foundation will focus more on actively using and engaging the Network of leaders to assume a more substantive role in shaping strategic responses to the complex national and international issues facing rural Australia.

Why is the Foundation’s role important?
The need for the Foundation’s work has become more urgent over the last decade. Australia's problems with water, drought and farm sustainability have intensified. Combined with the onset of global warming and the likelihood of climate change, hard thinking and visionary leadership is required to assist rural Australia to meet the challenges that threaten the viability of rural communities and industries.

How is the Foundation constituted and funded?
The ARLF is a not-for-profit organisation incorporated in 1992 as a public company limited by guarantee. The Foundation is endorsed as a deductible gift recipient and is staffed by five full-time and two part-time employees. It is primarily funded by corporate sponsorship in the form of scholarships to enable people from rural, regional and remote Australia to undertake the Australian Rural Leadership Program (ARLP) and through providing a range of smaller targeted programs .

The scholarships are provided by a range of rural industries, industry bodies, state and federal governments and research and development corporations, among others. This is indicative of the profile and support the Foundation has established and the relevance and value of its role and its programs. However, this approach to funding significantly limits the Foundation’s capacity to meet the demand for scholarships during times of drought and industry crisis, and to broaden its advisory activities and strategic engagement in rural support and development.

What is the current challenge?
The challenges facing rural Australia make it increasingly difficult for some of our traditional sponsors to continue to fund scholarship places on the ARLP. Additionally, those who are able to provide a scholarship often require it to be used for an individual from their own industry or company. As a consequence, there are only two scholarships available to support candidates from emerging industries or new areas.

Developing leadership in these spheres is critical for rural Australia and it is to this end that your support is requested. The Foundation urgently needs to establish five or six scholarships that are not tied to a particular industry or group.

What is the need?
Each year the Foundation receives applications from candidates to take part in the Australian Rural Leadership Program (ARLP) who work in areas where there is no funded scholarship and little capacity to provide one due to the effects of drought and the lack of a funding source.

The Foundation also receives requests regularly from governments, industry, think tanks, etc. to facilitate the involvement of its Network of Graduates in policy development and strategic thinking on issues such as environmental sustainability, water management, community development and structural change.

The Graduate Network is a vital and largely untapped, national resource , yet the Foundation has no funding to support the engagement of its graduates in development and sustainability challenges facing rural and urban Australia.

Who does the ARLP?
Up to 35 people from diverse backgrounds are accepted into the ARLP each year. The cohort is made up of men and women of ages ranging from 26 to 56, includes a group of Indigenous Australians and representatives from both wet and dry land areas of Australia.

Diversity is essential to the leadership development process and is enhanced through selecting a mix of:
o primary producers (e.g., livestock, grain, fisheries and mining)
o community-based workers (e.g., local councilors, human service workers, volunteers)
o employees of rurally-oriented service providers (e.g., banking sector, communications sector and large agricultural companies )
o staff from government departments (e.g., Centrelink, state , DAFF, DOTARS)
o Individuals from research and development organizations (e.g., CSIRO, RIRDC).

The ARLP is delivered over 18-months with participants attending for 60 days spread over seven sessions. The objective is to produce a network of informed, capable and ethical leaders who are able to work collaboratively to advance the interests of their industries, communities, and rural Australia in general.

What you can do to help?
Support for the Foundation may be provided in three categories:
o A donation to support the Foundation’s Network of rural leaders to ensure the development and sustainability of Rural Australia through their advisory role
o Funding an open ARLP scholarship ($46,000 per scholarship)
o Funding a part ARLP scholarship

An immediate commitment to rural leadership development can be made by sponsoring a participant on the next ARLP Course which opens for registrations in May.

Deductible gift recipient status
The Foundation’s deductible gift recipient status make gifts for these purposes tax deductible to the donor. In exchange, the Foundation offers benefits to its sponsors, including acknowledgement in our annual report; on our website and in promotional publications; course directories; and at graduation and other Foundation events.

Please consider this request carefully. Sponsorship of the Foundation offers an opportunity to contribute something tangible to rural Australia and to be associated with a highly-regarded philanthropic organisation and Australia’s premier rural leadership development program.